Leave a “strong” public ES for Catholic?

[Anonymous]

If you need financial aid then your choice isn’t really private vs public. It’s private vs college savings. Think big picture. Do you want to send your kids to college without loans?

It’s also private vs vacations and other things that make life enjoyable but your question is focused only on education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: My kids both attended a local parochial (when they were younger) and public schools when they were older.

While we met a few nice families at a local parochial, the school atmosphere was toxic. The buildings were beautiful, you could eat off the floor, and they did a great job of selling the school at the Open House.

Once you get in though, it’s like having a relationship with a narcissist. You are immediately made to feel superior “love bombed” because you “invested” in your child(ren’s) education. When you walk through the halls, you see all the amazing projects hanging on the walls or the professional looking dioramas sitting on the tables. The crazy number of graded projects, which were always completed at home were not age appropriate in the least and were more like “family projects.” Many of these “family projects” were completely done by parents though they’d never admit it. Cheating was rampant- parents writing their kids papers or doing their homework for them. The school felt like one big “act”. There was one set of rules for big donors of money/time another for everyone else. Oftentimes, it felt like I was homeschooling my kid as it seemed like they assigned a ton of homework but school was often reserved for fun activities.

The clique was terrible and run by the parents. Almost everyone came from a similar background, white upper middle class. Since it was a small school, you were either in or out. If you were the type of person to question things, you were definitely out. If you weren’t Catholic, even if you checked all the other boxes you were ousted at some point. There were some mean staff members that would take pride in bullying kids that weren’t part of the “in clique” and the principal turned a blind eye.

The environment worked for some. There were some nice kids whose family fit well enough socially and they are doing fantastic now. It didn’t work for a lot of people. There were a crazy number of kids that developed mental health issues when they were older.

And never ever say you are sending your kid to a public high school. The administration will turn their backs to you if you apply to a magnet or actively criticize you for being too demanding when all you are asking for is getting the documents you need in a timely manner.

Please share the name of this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: My kids both attended a local parochial (when they were younger) and public schools when they were older.

While we met a few nice families at a local parochial, the school atmosphere was toxic. The buildings were beautiful, you could eat off the floor, and they did a great job of selling the school at the Open House.

Once you get in though, it’s like having a relationship with a narcissist. You are immediately made to feel superior “love bombed” because you “invested” in your child(ren’s) education. When you walk through the halls, you see all the amazing projects hanging on the walls or the professional looking dioramas sitting on the tables. The crazy number of graded projects, which were always completed at home were not age appropriate in the least and were more like “family projects.” Many of these “family projects” were completely done by parents though they’d never admit it. Cheating was rampant- parents writing their kids papers or doing their homework for them. The school felt like one big “act”. There was one set of rules for big donors of money/time another for everyone else. Oftentimes, it felt like I was homeschooling my kid as it seemed like they assigned a ton of homework but school was often reserved for fun activities.

The clique was terrible and run by the parents. Almost everyone came from a similar background, white upper middle class. Since it was a small school, you were either in or out. If you were the type of person to question things, you were definitely out. If you weren’t Catholic, even if you checked all the other boxes you were ousted at some point. There were some mean staff members that would take pride in bullying kids that weren’t part of the “in clique” and the principal turned a blind eye.

The environment worked for some. There were some nice kids whose family fit well enough socially and they are doing fantastic now. It didn’t work for a lot of people. There were a crazy number of kids that developed mental health issues when they were older.

And never ever say you are sending your kid to a public high school. The administration will turn their backs to you if you apply to a magnet or actively criticize you for being too demanding when all you are asking for is getting the documents you need in a timely manner.

Please share the name of this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We switched and a few years laters switched back to public. The $ just wasn’t worth it. We got a lot of busy work homework, teachers who couldn’t deal with adhd and the class size moved from 17 to almost 30 in the three years we were there so ended up being larger than our public . Also do you plan on Catholic HS? The cost is double to triple that of elementary. We learned that about 98% of kids at the Catholic elementary went to Catholic HS. we would have been the only ones to tell our kids in 8th grade that they couldnt go to hs with their friends. Also I am Catholic but I was shocked by some of the devout conservatives- moms must stay at home and have 6+ kids etc. know what you are getting into.

What's wrong with a family's decision to focus on family? We have a mix of these families and families with two working parents. You sound like a snob.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to make your own choice. But know at Catholic schools, how the school "embraces other religions" is to show how they're inferior but still worthy of studying.

+100

We would never do Catholic, instead we provide other enriching activities through family vacations, an au pair who takes the kids after school 3 x a week (on trips to museums, or other activities), summer camp experiences and spring break trips to a diff state each year.

Education starts at home, it does not begin in school.

We don't want our children to only think in a linear way.

Seems only one who is thinking "in a linear way" is the PP, who claims they would "never do Catholic" when they clearly know nothing about Catholic schools.

Perhaps I should clarify that no religious schools would be okay for us. You are your child's first teacher, education and learning does not take place in a corporate structure. It takes place at home.

You do you. We like having the reinforcement of religion in the classroom. It actually expands their education beyond a public school experience where religion can never be discussed. Those kids are missing out and getting the type of education that might make THEM think in a linear way. My kids learned about all religions, not just Catholicism. Sadly not allowed in public schools.

Religion can be discussed in public school. One religion can’t be forced or supported over all others.

Name a course in public school that spends the entire time discussing religion, ethics, social justice, or theology. I am not talking about one course in HS, but an ongoing class that occurs every single day. Public schools are missing this very important element of an hour a day to decompress and think about things that really matter. I love that my daughter will have this hour a day for the rest of her education through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We switched and a few years laters switched back to public. The $ just wasn’t worth it. We got a lot of busy work homework, teachers who couldn’t deal with adhd and the class size moved from 17 to almost 30 in the three years we were there so ended up being larger than our public . Also do you plan on Catholic HS? The cost is double to triple that of elementary. We learned that about 98% of kids at the Catholic elementary went to Catholic HS. we would have been the only ones to tell our kids in 8th grade that they couldnt go to hs with their friends. Also I am Catholic but I was shocked by some of the devout conservatives- moms must stay at home and have 6+ kids etc. know what you are getting into.

What's wrong with a family's decision to focus on family? We have a mix of these families and families with two working parents. You sound like a snob.

You were smart to realize that your kids would be the only ones not going to Catholic for HS. We were that family and that was part of the reason we switched for our younger one. It was very uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My kids both attended a local parochial (when they were younger) and public schools when they were older.

While we met a few nice families at a local parochial, the school atmosphere was toxic. The buildings were beautiful, you could eat off the floor, and they did a great job of selling the school at the Open House.

Once you get in though, it’s like having a relationship with a narcissist. You are immediately made to feel superior “love bombed” because you “invested” in your child(ren’s) education. When you walk through the halls, you see all the amazing projects hanging on the walls or the professional looking dioramas sitting on the tables. The crazy number of graded projects, which were always completed at home were not age appropriate in the least and were more like “family projects.” Many of these “family projects” were completely done by parents though they’d never admit it. Cheating was rampant- parents writing their kids papers or doing their homework for them. The school felt like one big “act”. There was one set of rules for big donors of money/time another for everyone else. Oftentimes, it felt like I was homeschooling my kid as it seemed like they assigned a ton of homework but school was often reserved for fun activities.

The clique was terrible and run by the parents. Almost everyone came from a similar background, white upper middle class. Since it was a small school, you were either in or out. If you were the type of person to question things, you were definitely out. If you weren’t Catholic, even if you checked all the other boxes you were ousted at some point. There were some mean staff members that would take pride in bullying kids that weren’t part of the “in clique” and the principal turned a blind eye.

The environment worked for some. There were some nice kids whose family fit well enough socially and they are doing fantastic now. It didn’t work for a lot of people. There were a crazy number of kids that developed mental health issues when they were older.

And never ever say you are sending your kid to a public high school. The administration will turn their backs to you if you apply to a magnet or actively criticize you for being too demanding when all you are asking for is getting the documents you need in a timely manner.

Please share the name of this school.

This is so factual.
Well done post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to make your own choice. But know at Catholic schools, how the school "embraces other religions" is to show how they're inferior but still worthy of studying.

+100

We would never do Catholic, instead we provide other enriching activities through family vacations, an au pair who takes the kids after school 3 x a week (on trips to museums, or other activities), summer camp experiences and spring break trips to a diff state each year.

Education starts at home, it does not begin in school.

We don't want our children to only think in a linear way.

Seems only one who is thinking "in a linear way" is the PP, who claims they would "never do Catholic" when they clearly know nothing about Catholic schools.

Your poor kid has an idiot for a parent.

What exactly about religion in Catholic school is your kid learning? Not the bible. Just literal BS ie pro life garbage, and non science.
Support for pedo priests over children.

Indoctrination more like it.

At least at Public school they are teaching more academics.

Perhaps I should clarify that no religious schools would be okay for us. You are your child's first teacher, education and learning does not take place in a corporate structure. It takes place at home.

You do you. We like having the reinforcement of religion in the classroom. It actually expands their education beyond a public school experience where religion can never be discussed. Those kids are missing out and getting the type of education that might make THEM think in a linear way. My kids learned about all religions, not just Catholicism. Sadly not allowed in public schools.

Religion can be discussed in public school. One religion can’t be forced or supported over all others.

Name a course in public school that spends the entire time discussing religion, ethics, social justice, or theology. I am not talking about one course in HS, but an ongoing class that occurs every single day. Public schools are missing this very important element of an hour a day to decompress and think about things that really matter. I love that my daughter will have this hour a day for the rest of her education through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to make your own choice. But know at Catholic schools, how the school "embraces other religions" is to show how they're inferior but still worthy of studying.

This is simply not true in our experience.

[Anonymous]

By moving this thread here from the private school forum, you will just get confirmation bias. People in public school will always disparage Catholic schools because they don't know anything about it. There are many parents in the private school forum who can actually give you a credible comparison. They can't do that here.

[Anonymous]

As am MCPS teacher the past 20 years, I will say: If you can afford private, so private. Many teachers have their kids in private school (if they are not in magnet or special programs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We switched and a few years laters switched back to public. The $ just wasn’t worth it. We got a lot of busy work homework, teachers who couldn’t deal with adhd and the class size moved from 17 to almost 30 in the three years we were there so ended up being larger than our public . Also do you plan on Catholic HS? The cost is double to triple that of elementary. We learned that about 98% of kids at the Catholic elementary went to Catholic HS. we would have been the only ones to tell our kids in 8th grade that they couldnt go to hs with their friends. Also I am Catholic but I was shocked by some of the devout conservatives- moms must stay at home and have 6+ kids etc. know what you are getting into.

What's wrong with a family's decision to focus on family? We have a mix of these families and families with two working parents. You sound like a snob.

You were smart to realize that your kids would be the only ones not going to Catholic for HS. We were that family and that was part of the reason we switched for our younger one. It was very uncomfortable.

It's not the school's fault that you are insecure in your family's decisions. Our school always had a few who matriculated to public school, and it was never an issue. Sound like you missed out due to your insecurities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As am MCPS teacher the past 20 years, I will say: If you can afford private, so private. Many teachers have their kids in private school (if they are not in magnet or special programs).

Yes, I have heard this over and over from MCPS teachers who send their kids to Catholic or other private schools. If anyone has the inside look at the disaster that is MCPS, it is the teachers.

[Anonymous]

At our old public elementary school in a ‘W’ zone, a good number of our kids had their kids in private. And ironically while they were home during the pandemic teaching virtually, their own kids were in private school receiving in person instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to make your own choice. But know at Catholic schools, how the school "embraces other religions" is to show how they're inferior but still worthy of studying.

+100

We would never do Catholic, instead we provide other enriching activities through family vacations, an au pair who takes the kids after school 3 x a week (on trips to museums, or other activities), summer camp experiences and spring break trips to a diff state each year.

Education starts at home, it does not begin in school.

We don't want our children to only think in a linear way.

Seems only one who is thinking "in a linear way" is the PP, who claims they would "never do Catholic" when they clearly know nothing about Catholic schools.

Perhaps I should clarify that no religious schools would be okay for us. You are your child's first teacher, education and learning does not take place in a corporate structure. It takes place at home.

You do you. We like having the reinforcement of religion in the classroom. It actually expands their education beyond a public school experience where religion can never be discussed. Those kids are missing out and getting the type of education that might make THEM think in a linear way. My kids learned about all religions, not just Catholicism. Sadly not allowed in public schools.

Religion can be discussed in public school. One religion can’t be forced or supported over all others.

Name a course in public school that spends the entire time discussing religion, ethics, social justice, or theology. I am not talking about one course in HS, but an ongoing class that occurs every single day. Public schools are missing this very important element of an hour a day to decompress and think about things that really matter. I love that my daughter will have this hour a day for the rest of her education through high school.

Why do ES students need an entire course that focuses solely on those things? If done right those topics are covered across the curriculum in subjects like Social Studies/ History/ English/ Counseling lessons. Then they are placed in context of actual real world or situations of characters that then allows kids to think about them. Then once kids have a foundation they can do a deeper exploration in HS /College / beyond in something ideas/topics.